_ JAMIE MOORE - A Pro's Pro (boxing monthly)

http://www.boxing-monthly.co.uk/content/current/two.htm

Check awsome video at end

Now this kid is nothing like sheryl crowe ;D

A fighter can’t have a higher accolade than to receive the respect of his peers. But will the hard-knocks career that earned Jamie Moore that praise count against him as he aims for higher honours? MICK GILL reports

Jamie Moore may not be the best fighter in Britain, or even his hometown of Manchester right now, but I guarantee the sport would be a better place if his peers shared his noble approach.

The British light-middleweight champion from Salford is the genuine article, a purists’ fighter who insists on doing things the right way — pursuing the traditional belts, accommodating all-comers, waging war while upholding Corinthian values.

There’s never any messing about when this high-energy body snatcher steps between the strands. Action of the rough-and-ready variety is guaranteed.

“The game’s not just about winning. It’s about putting bums on seats and attracting viewing figures. I can sell tickets because every one of my fights is good to watch, a good night out,” he says, and he’s not lying.

Now, after seven years of hard graft in the hardest profession, it seems the blue-collar champion is finally set to crack the international scene. This is the tale of how he got there.

“A lot of Salford lads make their money through selling drugs but I always wanted to do it the noble way,” quips the 5ft 8ins shaven-skulled southpaw, a chilled, endearing type, who caused a stir by seeing off prospect Matthew Macklin in the 10th after a titanic battle in late September.

“I was born on a typical council estate. Loads of characters. People ask was I a street fighter! Every lad here was a street fighter, always fighting the other schools. Fun times.

“My fascination with boxing probably started through that because there’s no history of boxing through the family. Nigel Benn was my big hero. I had the old ‘V’ shaped into my hair like him when I was just eight or nine.”

Though the Steve Wood-managed, Frank Maloney-promoted crowd thriller has been boxing competitively for half of his 28 years, his style cut little ice in the amateurs, where his six-year career was bereft of any titles or international recognition.

“In me first bout, I stormed out like a headless chicken and got stopped in round two,” he recalls. “In my second, I beat Anthony Farnell [the future WBU middleweight boss]. After that, it was hard to match me up. In my ninth, I fought Ricky Hatton. He had a bit of seasoning; I was just a windmill [Moore was blown away in the opening frame].

“One day, Michael Brodie, a big hero of mine, big inspiration, brought his Lonsdale Belt to the Phoenix [gym] and I thought: ‘Beautiful, I’ve got to have one.’ That’s why I turned pro.”

He did so in October 1999 but, again, there was little in his opening two pro years to suggest Moore would evolve into the near-world-level craftsman he is today.

Initially trained by Ray Farrell, and later Steve Foster Sr, the then-Sports Network-promoted prospect was raw and impetuous. On his debut, he was dropped like a stone by Basingstoke’s Clive Johnson (“I woke up at six,” he says). He got up to win but fared less well in his 13th fight, getting knocked out in five rounds before his own crowd by one-time Commonwealth welter king Scott Dixon.

But, though Mooresy has encountered the odd pothole along the way, there has been a steady refinement of his aggressive crowd-friendly ring style, and several seals applied to a once-leaky defence, since his switch to trainer Oliver Harrison — he of Amir Khan repute — in early 2002.

“After Dixon beat me, I was effectively training myself, pretty disinterested, accepting nothing fights just to earn a few quid. But Oliver felt he could make me a European champion at least and asked for a chance.

“I can’t stand people barking orders at me. Oliver’s perfect because he’s very calm and quiet.

“And I’ve no problem being in Amir’s shadow. I’ve always been a quiet lad who keeps himself to himself. If I can make good money without being known, that’s great.”

Within five fights together, Moore was British and Commonwealth champion, nipping in at just five days’ notice to upset Michael Jones in his native Liverpool. That started one of the best domestic rivalries of recent times.

But, after consolidating with defences against Gary Logan and Andrew Facey, and regaining the Commonwealth title he’d vacated, Moore’s career began to crumble in the latter half of 2004.

In late June, his hip gave way during a defence of the latter title against Ghana’s Ossie Duran, forcing a third-round retirement defeat.

Upon his return, five months later, he was disqualified from a national title defence when the aforementioned Jones opted not to continue after taking a short southpaw left hook just moments after referee Dave Parris’s call to stop boxing.

At 26, Mooresy found himself back at the bottom rung of the ladder.

“To my mind, my only true loss was to Dixon and that’s the fight I learned most from so I’m not unduly worried about losing,” claims the proud father of 18-month-old Mikey.

“I was livid when I read a report that I’d been knocked out by Duran but I never got depressed after either of those losses because I knew they weren’t genuine.

“The Jones disqualification affected me far worse. [My wife] Colleen was three or four months pregnant with Mikey so it was a bit of a worry money-wise.

“Jones had been getting on my nerves with some of the crap he’d been saying in the build-up and I was overeager to do a number on him. I knew I was better than him. A win would have got me the Lonsdale Belt and allowed me to move on.”

When Jones kept him waiting for nearly eight months before their inevitable rubber match was finalised, he confesses his head was awash with contrasting emotions when he stepped into the ring at a cauldron-like Altrincham Leisure Centre to finally settle their score.

“Mikey was five weeks old yet I’d hardly seen him and, in the week before the fight, my Nana fell ill and died before me, which was horrible. But I couldn’t allow myself to grieve until afterwards.

“All the passion made me overeager. I really wanted to beat him up and almost blew it,” concedes Moore, who had to come off the canvas twice before prevailing in round six of a humdinger.

With permanent custody of the Lonsdale Belt secured, and now several world rankings to protect, one sensed he must have taken one bump on the head too many when he agreed to accommodate Macklin — one of the nation’s best prospects at any weight. But, once again, his gladiatorial instincts kicked in.

“I don’t ever want to hear fans saying: ‘Jamie Moore avoided so and so’. I’ve too much pride for that,” he asserts. Moore withstood some fearsome assaults before inflicting a harrowing 10th-round knockout. Fight of the Year? Potential Fight of the Decade!

“If Macklin’s crowd left me to it, I’d probably have vacated but I felt they were trying to bully me. No way was I going to allow outsiders to dictate to me.

“A deal was struck giving me the best payday of my career. Studying Macklin at the Phoenix, I knew exactly how good he was, exactly what I was getting into. Though I expected to win, I also knew it would be hard.

“But, having trained at the Phoenix [he is a regular southpaw sparhand for Ricky Hatton], I knew the Billy Graham style inside out. I’ve probably even retained a bit myself.

“Too many so-called prospects have padded records then sink as soon as they’re in a proper fight. It’s because I’ve had a few decent tests — and come through them — that I’ve become a half-decent fighter. There’s certain things you can’t learn in the gym.

“For once, I was forced to box. But I think I proved myself a good all-rounder who’s in great fights whether I box off the front foot or back.

“It was my experience that enabled me to remain composed and win the Macklin fight. I knew how it felt to be tired because, remember, for the first Jones fight, I’d not even trained properly to do a 12-rounder. Again, in the third [Jones] fight, I was tired and hurt. I was always conscious of keeping just enough back in the tank. Matthew, good as he was, didn’t have those experiences.”

Moore neither receives nor covets the crossover acclaim that a Hatton or stablemate Amir Khan might enjoy, but one senses that the immense regard in which he is held by his fellow professionals is of far greater worth to him.

His nice-guy demeanour is clearly natural and he is always keen to conduct his often barbaric business with a degree of decorum that brings credit both to himself and the sport.

“Both Matthew and me were confident we’d win but there was no stupid name calling. We shook hands before, had a proper fight, then shook hands after. That’s how it should always be,” he says.

“The first thing that went through my head when he dropped faced down was not ‘I’ve won’, it was ‘Christ, I’ve killed him’. He didn’t move. But, even when he was on the stretcher with the oxygen mask, Matthew managed to say he was okay.

“Though I had a lot of people waiting back at my house, I drove half an hour out of my way to visit him in the hospital. Together, we’d been through something 99% of other boxers aren’t capable of. I also knew it could have been either one of us.

“I don’t think a rematch would do either of us any good long term. Put it this way, the purse would have to pay my mortgage off! I’ve bigger plans now.”

So what of the future? While Moore is clearly deserving of a crack at the next tier, there is a fear in some circles that his propensity to war at domestic level, though laudable, may have left permanent scars for when he endeavours to upgrade in 2007.

“Most of the punishment I absorbed against Macklin was to the body, whereas it’s the head shots that slow your career,” claimed Moore, who underwent surgery to his troublesome left shoulder in late October.

“Ideally, I’d like to be back before mid-February so I can spend some quality time with our new baby [wife Colleen is due 18 February].

“I’ve promised myself I’ll be leaving this with all me marbles by my 31st birthday and I’m trusting Oliver and Steve Wood to help me do that. I might not be educated but I’m quite sharp and quick-witted.

“With Steve, I’ve started up a little boxing equipment business — Vital Impact Protection (VIP) — so I know I’ll be able to walk away.”

Whoever the opposition, he is adamant about staying true to the traditional titles. One detects almost a degree of embarrassment that his 25-3 (18 quick wins) card shows a WBO Intercontinental bout — against Scott Dixon — during his time with Sports Network.

“I’m proud to say I’ve been British and Commonwealth champion. I’m the only one from Salford. Now, ideally, the European and WBC will follow. I’m at a stage now where I can’t have easy fights. If I do, something’s going wrong,” he said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFrENg7erZ4 brutal round 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K4MPqRA9ww Fight highlights including KO